A fishing rod holder that allows horizontal striking of fish either while trolling or still-fishing. The fishing rod holder consists of a rod holder support arm assembly, a rotating unit, a base unit and an optional mounting adapter. The rod holder may be mounted for horizontal striking on the top surface of a gunnel wall on a boat or other substantially flat horizontal surface. Alternatively, the mounting adapter may be used to mount the rod holder to a boat handle rail. The rod holder support arms are slidably engaged in the support arm assembly and allow for customized vertical orientation of the rod's tip with respect to the reel. In addition, the horizontal orientation of the rod may be customized to accommodate fishing technique and fishing conditions.
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8. A fishing rod holder comprising:
a support arm assembly including a sleeve holder and one or more support arms for holding a fishing rod; an arm support holder that slidably engages said support arms to allow vertical orientation of the fishing rod; a rotating unit that rotatably engages said arm support holder, the rotating unit having a bottom surface wherein a circumferential channel is disposed thereon, a rotating unit rotational stop pin being mounted within said circumferential channel; and a base unit configured to be secured to a structure that rotatably engages said rotating unit, said base unit having a top surface and a base unit rotational stop pin extending from said top surface such that said base unit rotational stop pin slidably engages said circumferential channel of said rotating unit when said base unit and said rotating unit are engaged, said rotating unit being capable of free horizontal rotation relative to said base unit until said rotating unit rotational stop pin and said base unit rotational stop pin are in contact and a means for mounting said base unit to a boat or other fixed structures.
1. A fishing rod holder apparatus comprising:
A support arm assembly, including a sleeve holder for receiving the butt end of a fishing rod, said sleeve holder including: a top surface; a bottom surface; a proximal end; and a distal end; at least two support arms including: a proximal end; a distal end; and a central section therebetween; said support arms being fixedly attached to said bottom surface of said distal end of said sleeve holder, said support arms being substantially separated from each other and parallel to each other with and having a substantially curvilinear profile, said support arms being connected to each other in at least one place in said central section, said support arms being bent outward and upward at said distal end so as to receivably support and retain the central section of a fishing rod; A rod cap holder with a top surface and a bottom surface; Said bottom surface of said rod cap holder having a transverse lip; and Said rod cap holder having a central bore; A arm support base unit including: A top surface; and A bottom surface; Said top surface of said arm support base unit having a transverse groove disposed therein; Said arm support base unit further having a central bore with a splined profile; A rotating unit including: A top surface; and A bottom surface; A circumferential edge; A splined mounting shaft disposed substantially near the center of said top surface of said rotating unit; Said bottom surface having a rotational stop pin channel disposed circumferentially thereon forming an inner lip and an outer lip; A rotational stop pin is fixedly attached in substantially the center of said rotational stop pin channel, said rotational stop pin is visible on said top surface of rotating unit, but not extending substantially above said top surface; Said rotational stop pin is disposed a fixed distance from the circumferential edge of said rotating unit; A smooth shaft having a bottom surface is disposed substantially near the center of said bottom surface of said rotating unit; An anti-rotate pin is fixedly attached to said bottom surface of said smooth shaft; and A threaded central bore is disposed within said splined mounting shaft and said smooth shaft; A base unit including: A top surface; A bottom surface; And a circumferential edge; A central bore; and A flange bearing that partially covers said central bore and extends above said top surface forming a flange bearing lip, said central bore rotatably receives said smooth shaft on said rotating unit; Said central bore widens forming a lip, said flange bearing covers the narrow portion of said central bore; Said top surface further includes a rotational stop pin that is disposed at substantially the same distance from said circumferential edge of said base unit as said rotational stop pin disposed on said bottom of said rotating unit is disposed from said circumferential edge; A thrust bearing is disposed on said lip within said central bore; Said thrust bearing is held in position by a bearing retainer, said bearing retainer having a substantially smooth central bore and an aperture to receive said anti-rotate pin; A retaining bolt is disposed through compression washers and through said central bore of said bearing retainer; said retaining bolt threadably engages said threaded central bore of said smooth shaft of said rotating unit; Said splined central bore of said arms support base is engaged with said splined mounting shaft of said rotating unit; Said support arms are placed in said transverse groove of said arms support base and said rod cap holder engages said arms support base, said transverse lip of said rod cap holder is disposed between said support arms; A thumb screw is disposed through said central bore of said rod cap holder and threadably engages said threaded central bore of said splined mounting shaft; a means for adjusting the horizontal directional orientation of the rod; a means for mounting said apparatus to a substantially flat surface or to substantially cylindrical objects, wherein said rotating assembly is rotatably engaged with said base unit; and A means for mounting said base unit to a substantially flat surface or to substantially cylindrical objects.
2. The apparatus of
3. The apparatus of
4. The apparatus of
5. The apparatus of
6. The apparatus of
said top section having a top surface and a bottom surface, said top section having a diameter that is larger than said bottom section, and said top section having a polygonal profile; said bottom section having a side surface, said side surface having a plurality of apertures disposed thereon; said apparatus further including a mounting adaptor having a side surface and a profile complementary to said top section of said mounting unit, said mounting adaptor fixedly attached to said bottom surface of said base unit and slidably and nonrotatably engageable with said top section of said mounting unit; said adaptor further including at least one aperture disposed on said side surface such that a fastening device may be disposed through said adaptor aperture and further engaging said mounting adaptor aperture.
7. The apparatus of
a top member having a top surface, a bottom surface and a transverse cavity on said bottom surface; a bottom member having a top surface, a bottom surface and a transverse cavity on said top surface; said top surface of said top member is fixedly attached to said bottom surface of said base unit; said bottom surface of said top member is fixedly attached to top surface of said bottom member, such that said transverse cavities form a substantially cylindrical cavity; said cylindrical cavity used to mount said apparatus to boat handle rails or other similarly shaped object.
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The applicant hereby claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 60/272,238, filed Feb. 28, 2002.
This invention relates generally to fishing pole holders that may be used to strike a fish while trolling in a boat or while still-fishing.
Fishing rod holders are historically used to aid anglers and facilitate their ability to fish while performing other tasks. Current fishing rod holders require the operator to either remove the rod to strike the fish or strike the fish in a vertical manner while the rod is in the holder. Because both of these methods are inefficient and ineffective, there is a need for a fishing rod holder that allows the operator to strike the fish using the more natural and more effective horizontal motion while the fishing rod is in the holder. The rod should also be easily removable from the holder to facilitate reeling in the fish.
A fishing rod holder that allows horizontal striking of fish either while trolling or still-fishing. The fishing rod holder consists of a rod holder support arm assembly, a rotating unit, a base unit and an optional mounting adapter. The rod holder may be mounted for horizontal striking on the top surface of a gunnel wall on a boat or any other substantially flat horizontal surface. Alternatively, the mounting adapter may be used to mount the rod holder to a boat handle rail. The rod holder support arms are slidably engaged in the support arm assembly and allow for selectable vertical orientation of the rod's tip with respect to the reel. In addition, the horizontal orientation of the rod may be selectable to accommodate fishing technique and fishing conditions.
A principal object and advantage of the present invention is to allow horizontal striking of fish and ease of removal of the rod from the rod holder following a strike while either trolling or still-fishing.
Another principal object and advantage of the present invention is to allow the rod to be selectably-oriented in the vertical plane as well as the horizontal plane, depending on the fishing technique selected and the conditions.
The foregoing objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when the following detailed description of the invention is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and claims. Throughout the drawings, like numerals refer to similar or identical parts.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring now to
A thrust bearing 94 is disposed on the central bore lip 90 and may be composed of Teflon or other friction-minimizing material. The thrust bearing 94 is held in place by a bearing retainer 96. The bearing retainer 96 has a substantially smooth central bore 98 through which a retaining bolt 102 is disposed and an aperture 100 that receives the anti-rotate pin 70, stopping the complete rotation of the rotating unit 50 and preventing the retaining bolt 102 from backing out during operation. The retaining bolt 102 threadably engages the threaded central bore 74 in the rotating unit's lower cylinder 68 thereby biasing the bearing retainer 96 against the thrust bearing 94 and connecting the base unit 76 to the rotating unit 50. Compression washers 104 or other similar biasing means are used in conjunction with the retaining bolt 102 to provide the spring resistance necessary to offer minimal friction on the flange bearing 86 during rotation of the rotating unit 50. The bottom surface 80 of the base unit 76 has a plurality of threaded holes 108 to be used for mounting to a flat surface, using mounting screws 109 or similar means, or for attaching the mounting adaptor 111.
Referring now to
An alternate embodiment of the apparatus allowing for quick mounting and directional biasing of the fishing rod holder is provided for in
This embodiment includes a quick-mount adaptor 131 that is fixedly attached to the bottom surface 80 of the base unit 76. The adaptor has a polygonal profile cavity 132 that matches the profile of the top section 120 of the mounting block 118 and which nonrotatably slidably engages the top section 120 of the mounting block 118. When fully engaged, the top surface 122 of the mounting block 118 is substantially disposed against the bottom surface 80 of the base unit 76 and the sides 132 of the polygonal profile of the quick mount adaptor 131 are nonrotatably engaged with the side surfaces 121 of the top section 120 of the mounting unit 118. A plurality of threaded holes 136 are disposed in the quick-mount adaptor 131 for fastening the adaptor 131 to the bottom of the base unit 76. A mounting gasket 107 is further disposed between the adaptor 131 and the bottom of the base unit 76. In addition, at least one aperture 128 is provided on the side surface 133 of the quick-mount adaptor 131. This aperture 128 is used to secure the fishing rod holder when the apparatus is engaged with the mounting unit 118 by insertion of a fastening device such as a key or pin 130 as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
A transverse lip 36 is disposed along the bottom surface 34 of the rod holder cap 30. When the rod cap holder 30 engages the support arms base 40, the transverse lip 36 engages the support arms base 40, forming two transverse channels 47 that slidably capture the support arms 20 between the rod cap holder 30 and the support arms base 40. The rod cap holder 30 has a substantially smooth central bore 38 through which a thumb screw 106 or other fastening device is disposed. When the mounting post 58 on the rotating unit 50 is engaged with the splined shaft 48 of the support arms base unit 40, the arms support assembly 8 is secured to the rotating unit 50 by threadably engaging the thumb screw 106 that extends from the rod cap holder 30 to the threaded central bore 72 of the mounting post 58. This screw 106 may be loosened to allow adjustment of the vertical orientation of the fishing rod 2 by sliding the support arms 20 forward or backward in the transverse channels 47 of the support arms assembly 8. The thumb screw 106 is then tightened to retain the support arms 20 in the desired orientation.
With the foregoing description of the present invention, its operation can now be fully explained.
The rotating unit's 50 lower cylinder 68 of rotating unit 50 is inserted into the central bore 84 of the base unit 76. The lower cylinder 68 is rotatably disposed against the flange bearing 86 lining the central bore 84 of the base unit 76. The inner lip 64 on the bottom surface 54 of the rotating unit 50 is rotatably disposed against the flange bearing lip 88 that extends above the top surface 78 of the base unit 76. The retaining bolt 102 is disposed through the bearing retainer 96 and the thrust bearing 94 disposed on lip 90 in the central bore 84 of the base unit 76 and threadably engages the threaded central bore 74 disposed in the lower cylinder 68 of the rotating unit 50. The rotational tension is adjusted by tightening or loosening the retaining bolt 102. Compression washers 104, or the equivalent, are used in conjunction with the retaining bolt to provide sufficient spring resistance to minimize friction on the flange bearing during rotation of the cover. The bearing retainer 96 is nonrotatably engaged with the anti-rotate pin 70, thus ensuring that the rotating unit's rotation does not cause the retaining bolt 102 to become loosened, tightened, or disengaged.
Referring now to
With the vertical orientation of the fishing rod holder established, the fishing rod holder's horizontal orientation may now be described. There are three elements that provide customization of horizontal orientation. First, as indicated by
If trolling, the apparatus is preferably mounted with the base unit's rotational stop pin 92 oriented substantially as shown in
Generally, when a fish is detected, the operator may strike the fish in a horizontal manner by rotating the apparatus as described herein. The fishing rod may then be quickly, easily and smoothly removed from the apparatus at any time to facilitate reeling the fish in.
The above specification describes certain preferred embodiments of this invention. This specification is in no way intended to limit the scope of the claims. Other modifications, alterations, or substitutions may now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, all of which are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is therefore intended that the present invention be limited only by the scope of the attached claims below:
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Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Feb 28 2002 | Carter Day International, Inc. | (assignment on the face of the patent) | / | |||
Jun 10 2002 | ERNST, MATTHEW J | CARTER DAY INTERNATIONAL, INC | ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS | 013013 | /0880 |
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